Occupation ornithologist, author Books Alexander Wilson Name Edward Burtt, | Subject Birds Nationality American | |
Born April 22, 1948
Weston, Massachusetts ( 1948-04-22 ) Notable works Alexander Wilson: The Scot Who Founded American Ornithology | ||
Edward “Jed” Howland Burtt, Jr. (April 22, 1948 – April 27, 2016) was an American ornithologist, writer, and educator, and was responsible for many discoveries in ornithology.
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Background
Burtt was born in Weston, Massachusetts to Edward H., an insurance salesman, and Barbara Burtt (née Pride), a schoolteacher. He began watching birds at the early age of six, which inspired him to pursue a career in ornithology. As a child, he enjoyed observing the behavior of birds, and visited various birdwatching hotspots around Massachusetts such as Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.
Career
Jed Burtt obtained a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1970, and shortly thereafter attended graduate school. In 1977, he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin with Jack P. Hailman, where he studied the evolution of color in wood-warblers (Parulidae). During his final year of graduate school he had a one-year term at University of Tennessee as a visiting instructor. Following this, in 1977, he joined the zoology department at Ohio Wesleyan University, and remained there until 2014.
Burtt is known among ornithologists worldwide as a leader in the study of evolution of avian color. He has published extensively on the coloration of wood-warblers, the evolutionary pressure of bacteria on the coloration of feathers, sunlight as a selection pressure on the coloration of bills, among many other works.
Burtt has been president of multiple ornithological organizations, including the American Ornithologists' Union and the Wilson Ornithological Society.
Honors
Throughout his successful career, Burtt has involved undergraduates heavily in his research. To recognize this rare accomplishment, in 2015 the Wilson Ornithological Society established the Jed Burtt Mentoring Grants, which funds research and travel to meetings for professor and undergraduate teams. In addition, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education named Burtt as Ohio Professor of the Year in 2011.
In 2013, the Wilson Ornithological Society recognized Burtt’s dedication to ornithology with the society’s most prestigious award, the Margaret Morse Nice Medal.
Publications
Burtt, E. H., Jr. 1986. An analysis of physical, physiological and optical aspects of avian coloration with emphasis on Wood Warblers. Ornithol. Monogr. 38: x + 126 p.
Burtt, E. H., Jr., M. R. Schroeder*, L. M. Smith*, J. E. Sroka*, K. J. McGraw. 2011. Colourful parrot feathers resist bacterial degradation. Biol. Letters 7: 214-216 (doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0716).
Burtt, E.H., Jr. and J.M. Ichida. 1999. Occurrence of feather-degrading bacilli in the plumage of birds. Auk 116: 364-372.
Burtt, E.H., Jr. and J.M. Ichida. 2004. Gloger’s Rule, feather-degrading bacteria, and color variation among Song Sparrows. Condor 106: 681-686.
Goldstein, G., K. Flory*, B.A. Browne*, S. Majid*, J.M. Ichida, and E.H. Burtt, Jr. 2004. Bacterial degradation of black and white feathers. Auk 121: 656-659.
Muza*, M.M., E.H. Burtt, Jr., and J.M. Ichida. 2000. Distribution of bacteria on the feathers of eastern North American birds. Wilson Bull. 112: 432-435.
Reneerkins, J., M.A. Versteegh†, A.M. Schneider*, T. Piersma, and E.H. Burtt, Jr. 2008. Seasonally changing preen wax composition: Red Knots flexible defense against feather-degrading bacteria. Auk 125: 285-290.
Ruiz-de-Castañeda†, R., E.H. Burtt, Jr., S. González-Braojos and J. Moreno. 2012. Bacterial degradability of an intrafeather unmelanized ornament: a role for feather-degrading bacteria in sexual selection? Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 105: 409-419.
Saranathan*, V. and E.H. Burtt, Jr. 2007. Sunlight on feathers inhibits feather-degrading bacteria. Wilson J. Ornithol. 119: 239-245.
Schreiber, R. W., E. A. Schreiber, A. M. Peele*, and E. H. Burtt, Jr. 2006. Pattern of damage to albino Great Frigatebird flight feathers supports hypothesis of abrasion by airborne particles. Condor 108: 736-741.